The back of the cards...
 

A spin off from the t205 thread where it was brought up that it is nice having little bios and stats on the back of cards. It got me thinking of interesting and or funny tidbits found on the cards that you wouldn't neccesarily find about a player looking online or reading bios about the player written today.

One that makes me chuckle like a little boy hearing the word Fart is this statement from the back of the t207 Woodburn card:

"Woodburn is prone to wildness and on that account has been retarded (I usually stop reading with laughter right there) in his development"
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...cle01small.jpg

Please share humerous or interesting tidbits from the back of your cards.

Baseball's GSW bio
 

I always wanted to play baseball as a kid, but after reading this card my enthusiasm for dating was curtailed.

"One of the toughest men in the League to strike out..."
Apparently one of the toughest men to kill too! Wow.

"The Natural"
 

The movie The Natural was based on him :cool:

at least the shooting part was - not that he was such a phenom like Roy Hobbs was...

Re read
 

Alright Andy, I'll do it!

I 'm going to read my cards tomorrow and add to this thread...what a GREAT idea for a thread!

My own card would read something like :

"brian was sent back to the minors when he tried to drink a second cup of coffee in the office break room, he should have been on a conference call to debate next year's projects... His low batting average and mediocre ideas should keep him in the Pony League indefinitely":o

I know I have seen others on cards I don't own, but I honestly can't remember what they were. An interesting comment from the back of a card that I can't seem to find more info on the incident mentioned in the center panel on this t202:

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33663077.jpg

I would assume that if this incident of Moriarity getting spiked "aroused such wide comment in 2011.." and "materially injured Detroit's chances for the pennant" as the card mentions that I would be able to find more information on the incident and which player is shown doing the spiking. I am sure if I was more dillegent and knew where I could find old copies of Detroit newspapers I could figure it out, but I can't find this info in a quick search online.

So this is another intersting tidbit that I wouldn't really know anything about if it wasn't brought up on this card.

Made me think of the back of this card. For some reason I always remember him as a shifty infielder after I read it. :)

http://luckeycards.com/pt207redcross.jpg

I like that last sentance on that card "They never catch him with that eternal smile wiped off"

I tell my wife that reading the back of cards allows you to know more than you can know if you were reading about the players in books or online because it gives you a snap shot of what people thought at the time the player played. This card back embodies this thought with my favorite line from that card:
"They never catch him with that eternal smile wiped off"

You would never get that he was always smiling and "shifty" if you just read his stats on Baseball Reference.

I don't remember where I read it or the exact quote, but Ty Cobb commented how that goofy grin on his face made him want to bunt. He would get thrown out every time he tried it.

Hahahahaha. Classic.

Nice idea for a thread; I don't think enough attention is paid to card backs.

I always liked this one expounding on the depth of Connie Mack's involvement in forming the modern game:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...et%20Mack.jpeg

Foremost Pitcher?
 

Looking at his stats now you wouldn't talk about Sam Jones as being one of the foremost pitchers, yet someone thought he was when they wrote about him and his no hit, no run game in 1933.
http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/...A519640663.jpg

Collecting the different backs in series can be a whole subset of collecting. It is one I have been involved in, and enjoyed, from almost my first experiences of collecting as an adult...

http://luckeycards.com/pt212backsmaster.jpg

Leon, you couldn't have said it better.....and its better to grade them yourself.;)

bakc of cards
 

1964 Topps card... they cant seem to figure out his age

1954 Bowman card - they seem to be hung up that his name is hard to spell and speak,and his nationality also

York Type Two backs
 

Gang,
I was scanning and adding these newly slabbed Type2 Yorks to my registry and while entering the period writing from the backs, I remembered this thread. I think the cool sentence on the backs about each player is fascinating if not a bit repetitive in some cases. The writer seems to like the word "GREAT" quite a bit...of course this set is loaded with players who eventually made the HOF so he wasn't too far off!!:p

I have copied down most of them here. Some are very interesting (like Ray Schalk, Willie Kamm and Eppa Rixey;))

I haven't scanned the backs yet, so I have included just one front (because I like it :p)

Enjoy!!

Walter Reuther -"A southpaw with a great curve"
Joe Dugan -"Jumping Joe - A great third baseman"
Red Faber -"A great curve ball pitcher"
Gabby Hartnett -"Best catcher in his league -1928"
Bob Meusel -"The best throwing outfielder"
Babe Ruth-"Greatest slugger of all times"
Herb Pennock -"Steadiest of all Southpaws"
George Burns -"A veteran but still good"
Joe Sewell -"A great infielder from Dixie"
George Uhle -"Leading pitcher - one year won 27 games"
Bob O'Farrell -"Steady and dependable behind the bat"
Rogers Hornsby-"Greatest of all present day players"
Pie Traynor -"Fast at third - a great field captain"
Eppa Rixey -"Six feet five and one half inches tall"
Carl Mays -"Best underhand pitcher"
Adolph Luque -"Greatest of Cuban pitchers"
Dave Bancroft -"Great manager - better shortstop"
George Kelly -"Can do everything well"
Earle Combs -"Today's best centerfielder"
Harry Heilmann -"A champion batter"
Ray W. Schalk -"Greatest catcher of all times"
Hack Wilson -"Leading home run hitter"
Lou Gehrig -""Buster" - Babe Ruth's runner-up"
Tris Speaker -"Greatest of all outfielders"
Tony Lazzeri -"Star at second and at bat"
Sherwood Smith -"Veteran southpaw pitcher"
Eugene Hargraves -"A good catcher - a great slugger"
Miguel Gonzales -"A brainy catcher"
E.C. (Sam) Rice -"Specializes in two baggers"
Earl Sheely -"A good first baseman"
Sam Jones -""Sad" Sam - veteran pitcher"
Bibb Falk -"Dependable outfielder"
Willie Kamm -"Cost $100,000 - worth it at third"
Stanley Harris -"Fighting second baseman and manager"
John J. McGraw -"Manager of New York Giants"
Artie Nehf -"Star Southpaw pitcher"
Grover Alexander -"Star pitcher of world series - 1928"
Glenn Wright -"Star shortstop"
Earl Smith -"A scrappy hustling catcher"
Leon (Goose) Goslin -"One of the game's greatest hitters"
Frank Frisch -"One of the best at second or third"
Joe Harris -"Veteran outfielder and heavy hitter"
Fred (Cy) Williams -"An outfielder who can hit"
Eddie Roush -"A star in the outfield and at bat"
George Sisler -"He made a great record at first"
Ed Rommel -"A leading "knuckle-ball" pitcher"
Rogers Peckinpaugh - "...shortstop for double play"
Stanley Coveleskie -"A great "spitball" pitcher"
Lester Bell -"Good utility infielder and batter"
John P. McInnis -""Stuffy" a great old veteran on first"

I like this thread...I'll have to take a look at some of mine this week...here's one that cracks me up...the back of the 1969 Topps Test Issue of HOFer Bowie Kuhn, particularly his "batting record" and "eyes":

I don't own any but have been looking through scans online recently reading the backs because some are interesting. Yet some, like McGraw, are very anticlimatic in the midst of the rest.

This thread is phenomenal. Hope more gems get found.

I've always loved . . .
 

. . . how Sno signed the back of this one, but I have never understood why he wrote "yes, I was a catcher first" on his batting pose card. I assume he was responding to an inquiry on the only card submitted to him at the time. Still... Love this card!

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nuynjwmreNQYWf_ZqNph9DiJm_Z5QsNdec5_I7WHZRE?feat=e mbedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZctnIUeDEiM/SqBnH9p4W4I/AAAAAAAAHQk/qisqu_7vVzw/s800/SnodgrassBattingCatcherCommentary.jpg" height="651" width="800" /></a>